The mitigation hierarchy for sharks: A risk-based framework for reconciling trade-offs between shark conservation and fisheries objectives

Sharks and their cartilaginous relatives are one of the world's most threatened species groups. The primary cause is overfishing in targeted and bycatch fisheries. Reductions in fishing mortality are needed to halt shark population declines. However, this requires complex fisheries management decisions, which often entail trade-offs between conservation objectives and fisheries objectives. We propose the mitigation hierarchy (MH)-a step-wise precautionary approach for minimizing the impacts of human activity on biodiversity-as a novel framework for supporting these management decisions. We outline a holistic conceptual model for risks to sharks in fisheries, which includes biophysical, operational and socioeconomic considerations. We then demonstrate how this model, in conjunction with the MH, can support risk-based least cost shark conservation. Through providing examples from real-world fishery management problems, we illustrate how the MH can be applied to a range of species, fisheries and contexts, and explore some of the opportunities and challenges hereto. Finally, we outline next steps for research and implementation. This is important in the context of increasing international regulation of shark fishing and trade, which must lead to reductions in shark mortality, while managing trade-offs between conservation objectives and the socioeconomic value of fisheries.